This section will look at the causes, effects and impacts of the increasing global demand for energy.
There are three main reasons:
increasing global population
population getting richer
advances in technology increase the availability of products
World population growth
The world's population has increased rapidly over the last 100 years from 1.65 billion in 1900 to 6.4 billion in 2008 and predicted to be as high as 8.91 billion in 2050. Many of you will have in your houses, a washing machine, fridge, tumble drier, dishwasher, microwave, television, computers, mobile phones and games consoles but this has not always been the case. As people have got more money, they look around at what there is to buy that will make their lives more comfortable and desire to own such goods. These goods use energy not only to operate them but also in their manufacture, so increasing personal wealth increases our demand for energy.
Technological advances
Advances in technology requires the use of energy in terms of developing it and making the products.
Social, economic and environmental impacts of an increasing demand for energy
Social
Impacts on people's health: increase of emphysema and bronchitis are problems associated with industrialisation. Some cities are shrouded in a haze that blocks out the sun and contains a dangerous mix of chemical, including those from coal, smoke and ozone. People may choose to travel to work using a different method of transport in an attempt to be environmentally friendly and fitter. Also we may change where we go on holiday.
Economic
These are clear with rising energy prices and with the cost of petrol soaring in the UK in the early months of 2008.
Environmental
on land: where spoil heaps have built up adjacent to coal mines when unneeded material has been dumped
on water: where the transportation of oil has led to major pollution incidents such as the Exon Valdez oil spill off Alaska in 1989 and the Prestige sinking off the coast of north-west Spain in 2002
on air: where poor quality is responsible for ill health on a local scale and for substantial effects on a global scale, where global warming is seen to be the main result.
This section will look at the causes, effects and impacts of the increasing global demand for energy.
There are three main reasons:
World population growth
The world's population has increased rapidly over the last 100 years from 1.65 billion in 1900 to 6.4 billion in 2008 and predicted to be as high as 8.91 billion in 2050. Many of you will have in your houses, a washing machine, fridge, tumble drier, dishwasher, microwave, television, computers, mobile phones and games consoles but this has not always been the case. As people have got more money, they look around at what there is to buy that will make their lives more comfortable and desire to own such goods. These goods use energy not only to operate them but also in their manufacture, so increasing personal wealth increases our demand for energy.
Technological advances
Advances in technology requires the use of energy in terms of developing it and making the products.
Social, economic and environmental impacts of an increasing demand for energy
Social
Impacts on people's health: increase of emphysema and bronchitis are problems associated with industrialisation. Some cities are shrouded in a haze that blocks out the sun and contains a dangerous mix of chemical, including those from coal, smoke and ozone. People may choose to travel to work using a different method of transport in an attempt to be environmentally friendly and fitter. Also we may change where we go on holiday.
Economic
These are clear with rising energy prices and with the cost of petrol soaring in the UK in the early months of 2008.
Environmental
- on land: where spoil heaps have built up adjacent to coal mines when unneeded material has been dumped
- on water: where the transportation of oil has led to major pollution incidents such as the Exon Valdez oil spill off Alaska in 1989 and the Prestige sinking off the coast of north-west Spain in 2002
- on air: where poor quality is responsible for ill health on a local scale and for substantial effects on a global scale, where global warming is seen to be the main result.
Predicted effects of global warming:A good example of the problems caused by increasing demand for energy as those caused by the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, USA
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special_reports/oil_disaster/